Russian frigate enters service, with plans for hypersonic armaments

MOSCOW — Russia has commissioned the frigate Admiral Golovko, the country’s first ship built to launch Zircon hypersonic missiles, the government announced.

At the Dec. 25 flag-raising ceremony, President Vladimir Putin said that by 2035 the Severnaya Verf shipyard will build a series of small- and medium-displacement corvettes. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had previously announced that all frigates and corvettes under construction would be armed with Zircon missiles.

However, experts have doubts about Russia’s ability to build both the vessels able to launch Zircons and the missiles themselves in the planned timeline.

“Despite the statements about the start of serial production, this is still a piece[-by-piece] production,” Pavel Luzin, senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, told Defense News.

The vessels will likely use “a universal launcher, which includes Kalibr, Oniks and Zircon missiles. Given that the Zircon missile is more expensive, the basis of the anti-ship armament of these vessels will be Kalibr and Oniks. In addition, there are few carriers for Zircon,” Luzin added.

The Severnaya Verf shipyard, a subsidiary of United Shipbuilding Corp., is currently under contract to build or prepare to launch seven Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates, also known as Project 22350. Three frigates of this type are in service with the Russian Navy.

Russia is also developing a modernized frigate, dubbed Project 22350M, and plans to build 12 of the ships.

“Severnaya Verf has produced three warships over the past three years, but plans to produce two frigates per year only of this class,” according to a Russian military expert and lieutenant colonel in the reserves.

“United Shipbuilding Corp. wants to create new shipyards, although they have problems with the old ones. The Severnaya Verf lacks a new boathouse; repairs, modernization and additional equipment are needed,” the officer told Defense News on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic.

In addition, Steregushchiy-class corvettes under projects 20380 and 20385 are to be armed with Zircons. Ten corvettes are in service, and nine are reportedly under construction, with plans for a total fleet of 29. But as a result of sanctions, “high quality components for the creation of radar complexes and diesel engines are either impossible to obtain or very expensive,” the officer explained.

“Because of this, many things need to be developed independently from scratch. But I am not sure that the Russian industry is ready for this. It would be long, expensive and with unclear results, and the corvette was supposed to be cheap. It is not clear how manufacturers will solve these problems and coordinate this with the Defence Ministry,” the officer added.

Meanwhile, it’s unlikely industry can produce the Lider-class destroyer, according to the state-owned media organization RIA Novosti, citing an interview with Aleksey Rakhmanov, the general director of United Shipbuilding Corp. And the battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy is set to be decommissioned, per Russian media.

Attack on Russian ship

Earlier this week, Ukrainian aircraft damaged a Russian ship moored in the Black Sea off Crimea, both countries said, bolstering Ukrainian morale after battlefield disappointments and doubts about the future of Western aid.

The attack marks a recent setback in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine , which began in February 2022.

The planes fired guided missiles at the landing ship Novocherkassk, which is moored at a base in the city of Feodosia, Russia’s Defence Ministry said. Video on Russian and Ukrainian social media showed an explosion in the port.

Ukrainian authorities claimed the ship was destroyed. They said it was likely carrying ammunition and possibly drones.

The 360-foot Novocherkassk can carry 10 tanks and 225 sailors.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Maxim Starchak is a Russia correspondent for Defense News. He previously worked as an editor for the Russian Defence Ministry and as an expert for the NATO Information Office in Moscow. He has covered Russian nuclear and defense issues for the Atlantic Council, the Center for European Policy Analysis, the Royal United Services Institute and more.

莫斯科——俄罗斯政府宣布，俄罗斯已正式接收“戈洛夫科海军上将”号护卫舰，这是该国建造的第一艘用于发射“锆石”高超音速导弹的舰艇。

在12月25日的升旗仪式上，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京表示，到2035年，北方造船厂将建造一系列中小型轻型护卫舰。此前，国防部长谢尔盖·绍伊古曾宣布，所有在建的护卫舰和轻型护卫舰都将配备锆石导弹。

然而，专家们对俄罗斯能否在计划的时间内建造出能够发射锆石导弹的舰艇和导弹本身表示怀疑。

“尽管有关于开始批量生产的声明，但这仍然是逐件生产，”欧洲政策分析中心高级研究员帕维尔·卢津告诉《防务新闻》。

这些舰艇很可能使用“一种通用发射器，其中包括口径、缟玛瑙和锆石导弹。鉴于锆石导弹价格更高，这些舰艇的反舰武器将以口径和缟玛瑙导弹为主。此外，锆石导弹的载舰艇也很少，”卢津补充道。

联合造船集团旗下的北方造船厂目前已签订合同，建造或准备下水七艘“戈尔什科夫海军上将”级护卫舰（又称22350型护卫舰）。俄罗斯海军目前已拥有三艘该型护卫舰。

俄罗斯也在研发一种名为“22350M”的现代化护卫舰，并计划建造12艘。

据一位俄罗斯军事专家、预备役中校称，“北方造船厂在过去三年里生产了三艘军舰，但计划每年只生产两艘该级别的护卫舰。”

“联合造船集团希望新建造船厂，尽管他们现有的造船厂存在一些问题。北方造船厂缺少新的船坞；需要进行维修、现代化改造并添置新设备，”这位官员因话题敏感而要求匿名，并向《防务新闻》透露。

此外，20380 和 20385 型“守护”级轻型护卫舰也将配备锆石导弹系统。目前已有 10 艘该级护卫舰服役，另有 9 艘正在建造中，计划最终组建一支 29 艘的舰队。但这位官员解释说，由于制裁，“用于制造雷达系统和柴油发动机的高质量部件要么根本无法获得，要么价格极其昂贵”。

“正因如此，很多东西都需要从零开始独立研发。但我并不确定俄罗斯工业是否做好了准备。这将是一个漫长、昂贵且结果难以预料的过程，而轻型护卫舰原本应该是低成本的。目前还不清楚制造商将如何解决这些问题，以及如何与国防部协调，”这位军官补充道。

与此同时，据俄罗斯国家通讯社俄新社报道，联合造船集团总经理阿列克谢·拉赫曼诺夫在接受采访时表示，工业界不太可能生产“领袖”级驱逐舰。另据俄罗斯媒体报道，“彼得大帝”号战列巡洋舰即将退役。

袭击俄罗斯船只

本周早些时候，乌克兰战机击伤了一艘停泊在克里米亚附近黑海的俄罗斯军舰，两国均表示，这提振了乌克兰在战场失利和对西方援助前景感到怀疑后的士气。

这次袭击标志着俄罗斯对乌克兰的全面入侵遭遇了近期的挫折，这场入侵始于 2022 年 2 月。

俄罗斯国防部称，飞机向停泊在费奥多西亚市基地的登陆舰“新切尔卡斯克”号发射了制导导弹。俄罗斯和乌克兰社交媒体上的视频显示，港口发生爆炸。

乌克兰当局声称该船已被摧毁。他们表示，该船可能载有弹药，也可能载有无人机。

360 英尺长的“新切尔卡斯克”号可以搭载 10 辆坦克和 225 名水兵。

美联社对本报道亦有贡献。

马克西姆·斯塔恰克是《防务新闻》的俄罗斯特派记者。他曾任俄罗斯国防部编辑，也曾担任北约驻莫斯科新闻办公室专家。他还曾为大西洋理事会、欧洲政策分析中心、皇家联合军种研究所等机构报道俄罗斯核问题和国防问题。